Exchanging Gifts
by Slrmn82
Summary: OneShot Harper organizes a holiday party for the crew. The gift exchange yields surprising revelations.


Exchanging Gifts

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Rated T for general fluff.

Written for Day Two of the Harper/Tyr Advent Calendar.

"Come on guys. Hurry up." Harper whined as he bounced excitedly down the hall pulling Trance and Beka bodily behind him. Tyr and Dylan followed at a sedate pace a few feet away with Rommie in between them. They were all carrying packages of various sizes wrapped with many different colors. "You're going to love what I've done with the place."

"Why isn't Rev Bem being subjected to this… celebration?" Tyr asked curiously, smirking slightly as Harper became more excited the closer they got to the mess hall. 

He remembered when Harper came onto the bridge a few weeks ago and begged Dylan to throw a Kris Mast party. Understanding Harper's prattling at the best of times was difficult, but what with all the Earthisms the boy peppered his speech with as he attempts to convince the crew to have a party in commemoration, Tyr only gets that he is supposed to choose one of the crew secretly and give them a gift. The way they had picked the names was that the droids placed a flexi with one crewmember's name in their respective quarters, so that it remained a complete surprise. So it was with a certain amount of foreboding that Tyr followed the procession into the mess hall for the celebration.

"He'll be along after he finishes his meditations." Harper answers grinning over his shoulder at the larger man. 

With a fortifying sigh Tyr enters the mess hall first as Harper gestures them forward. Expecting the decorations to be loud and garish, much like the little professor himself, Tyr is pleasantly surprised at the simplicity of the adornments. White lights hang from the doorway and wrap around a small plant that Trance grew in the Arboretum. Harper even went so far as to prepare a multi-course feast as well, which was covering the table from tip to end.

They all placed their gifts on the table where the plant was, not as large as a tree, but festive none the less. As the night wore on, Tyr had plenty of time to second guess his gift. When he had been planet-side and saw an ornate sheath and dagger. Had he been considering giving a weapon to another Nietzschean he knows that they would appreciate the functionality of the gift. Harper however is hard to predict, and Tyr spent an hour examining the blade, trying to picture it in Harper's grip. This is not so incongruous as it once was in Tyr's mind however, as he remembered Harper's fierce continence when facing the Magog with only a knife. It was then that Tyr realized how much steel there truly was in the diminutive human. When he found himself surreptitiously watching the boy at random times, Tyr realized that Harper intrigued him. There were layers upon layers to his personality and behavior, and often he was overlooked due to his small stature. The dagger looks very similar to his own, which Tyr refuses to believe was anything other than coincidence and hopes none of the others study it carefully.

Rev entered the room just as they were finishing the food carrying a small box in his claws. He bowed slightly in greeting and Harper immediately jumped up from the table to meet him.

"I was beginning to think you were going to miss the gift giving."

"I apologize Harper. I lost all track of the time."

"Shall we begin?" Dylan interject before Harper could respond, although Tyr was slightly disappointed because if the smirk at the edge of the engineer's lips was anything to judge by, his next comment promised to be amusing. They passed out their respective gifts and once settled began opening them. By this time everyone had forgotten their reluctance to participate in one of Harper's weird schemes and had actually been relaxed and enjoying the downtime, not to mention the anticipation of getting gifts. Harper got Trance a sapling. Beka received vid-novels from Dylan. Dylan got a meditation mat and candles from Rev, in a quirk of fate Beka gave Rev almost the exact same gift as Dylan. Trance gave Tyr a leather bound copy of Nietzsche which nearly brought a tear to his ever-stoic eye. Harper was watching their reactions with delight. His eyes lit up with glee as he watched everyone laughing and generally having a great time.

"Are you waiting for an engraved invitation?" Tyr asked gruffly when he noticed Harper's distraction. 

Harper grabs the box from Tyr's hands and begins shaking it excitedly. Finally he tears the wrapping and flings the top over his shoulder so that he gets a clear view of what's inside. He lifts the blade carefully, and handles it deftly. Seeing the familiarity Harper displays with the weapon, Tyr is relieved. Perhaps he did not make a mistake after all. Harper his holding the leather grip in his palm testing the weapon's balance. There are shadows in his eyes as he looks upon the dagger, remembering the Magog attack presumably. Harper's flashback is interrupted by a snort of disdain from Dylan.

"You got Harper a weapon."

"Yes."

"Does he even know how to hold one properly?" Beka asked curiously. Harper ignored them in favor of staring at Tyr. He could almost swear there was a slight blush on the Nietzschean's caramel-colored skin. 

"It is a good blade. It will protect you well, should none of us be present."

"I'll think of you when I use it." Harper tells him with a smile, squeezing his nearest shoulder in thanks.

The rest of the night was spent drinking a stash of alcohol that Harper found in storage, and telling funny stories. By the time the party broke up it was late and everyone was at least a little drunk. Harper and Tyr were the last two to leave the mess hall, as Harper was trying to straighten up the mess left behind. Tyr helped and soon the room was tidy once again. Just as Harper was ready to depart to his own quarters to sleep Tyr stepped closer to him and bent down giving him a tender kiss on the lips.

"Happy Christmas, Little Professor."

Before Harper could shake off his stupor Tyr was gone. When Harper looked up at the ceiling expecting to see mistletoe he was surprised to find it bare. A large grin spread across his face and he rested his fingers wonderingly against his kiss-swollen lips.

"Happy Christmas indeed." 


End file.
